1:1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from
the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;
1:2 It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the
camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and {so} it was,
when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.
1:3 And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out
of the camp of Israel am I escaped.
1:4 And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he
answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also
are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
1:5 And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul
and Jonathan his son be dead?
1:6 And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount
Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen
followed hard after him.
1:7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I
answered, Here {am} I.
1:8 And he said unto me, Who {art} thou? And I answered him, I {am} an
Amalekite.
1:9 He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for
anguish is come upon me, because my life {is} yet whole in me.
1:10 So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not
live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that {was} upon his head,
and the bracelet that {was} on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my
lord.
1:11 Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the
men that {were} with him:
1:12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for
Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel;
because they were fallen by the sword.
1:13 And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence {art} thou? And he
answered, I {am} the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.
1:14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine
hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?
1:15 And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, {and} fall upon
him. And he smote him that he died.
1:16 And David said unto him, Thy blood {be} upon thy head; for thy mouth hath
testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord's anointed.
1:17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his
son:
1:18 (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah {the use of} the bow:
behold, {it is} written in the book of Jasher.)
1:19 The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty
fallen!
1:20 Tell {it} not in Gath, publish {it} not in the streets of Askelon; lest
the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the
uncircumcised triumph.
1:21 Ye mountains of Gilboa, {let there be} no dew, neither {let there be}
rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is
vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, {as though he had} not {been} anointed
with oil.
1:22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of
Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.
1:23 Saul and Jonathan {were} lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their
death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger
than lions.
1:24 Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with
{other} delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
1:25 How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, {thou
wast} slain in thine high places.
1:26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou
been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
1:27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
2:1 And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of the Lord, saying,
Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said unto him, Go
up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.
2:2 So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess,
and Abigail Nabal's wife the Carmelite.
2:3 and his men that {were} with him did David bring up, every man with his
household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.
2:4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the
house of Judah. And they told David, saying, {That} the men of Jabeshgilead
{were they} that buried Saul.
2:5 And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them,
Blessed {be} ye of the Lord, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord,
{even} unto Saul, and have buried him.
2:6 And now the Lord shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite
you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.
2:7 Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your
master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over
them.
2:8 But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth the son
of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
2:9 And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel,
and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.
2:10 Ishbosheth Saul's son {was} forty years old when he began to reign over
Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.
2:11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was
seven years and six months.
2:12 And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul,
went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
2:13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met
together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of
the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.
2:14 And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, And play before us.
And Joab said, Let them arise.
2:15 Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which
{pertained} to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
2:16 And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and {thrust} his sword
in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was
called Helkathhazzurim, which {is} in Gibeon.
2:17 And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the
men of Israel, before the servants of David.
2:18 And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel:
and Asahel {was as} light of foot as a wild roe.
2:19 And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right
hand nor to the left from following Abner.
2:20 Then Abner looked behind him, and said, {Art} thou Asahel? And he
answered, I {am}.
2:21 And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left,
and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel
would not turn aside from following of him.
2:22 And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me:
wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face
to Joab thy brother?
2:23 Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of
the spear smote him under the fifth {rib}, that the spear came out behind him;
and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, {that}
as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.
2:24 Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they
were come to the hill of Ammah, that {lieth} before Giah by the way of the
wilderness of Gibeon.
2:25 And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and
became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill.
2:26 Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever?
knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall
it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?
2:27 And Joab said, {As} God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in
the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.
2:28 So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after
Israel no more, neither fought they any more.
2:29 And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed
over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.
2:30 And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the
people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel.
2:31 But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, {so
that} three hundred and threescore men died.
2:32 And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father,
which {was in} Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to
Hebron at break of day.
3:1 Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David:
but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and
weaker.
3:2 And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of
Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
3:3 And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and
the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
3:4 And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the
son of Abital;
3:5 And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were born to David in
Hebron.
3:6 And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the
house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul.
3:7 And Saul had a concubine, whose name {was} Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah:
and {Ishbosheth} said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father's
concubine?
3:8 Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, {Am} I a
dog's head, which against Judah do shew kindness this day unto the house of
Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered
thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me to day with a fault
concerning this woman?
3:9 So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the Lord hath sworn to David,
even so I do to him;
3:10 To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne
of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba.
3:11 And he could not answer Abner a word again, because he feared him.
3:12 And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose {is} the
land? saying {also}, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand {shall be}
with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee.
3:13 And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require
of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal
Saul's daughter, when thou comest to see my face.
3:14 And David sent messengers to Ishbosheth Saul's son, saying, Deliver {me}
my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of the
Philistines.
3:15 And Ishbosheth sent, and took her from {her} husband, {even} from Phaltiel
the son of Laish.
3:16 And her husband went with her along weeping behind her to Bahurim. Then
said Abner unto him, Go, return. And he returned.
3:17 And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought
for David in times past {to be} king over you:
3:18 Now then do {it}: for the Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand
of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the
Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.
3:19 And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak
in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and that seemed
good to the whole house of Benjamin.
3:20 So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made
Abner and the men that {were} with him a feast.
3:21 And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel
unto my lord the king, that they may make a league with thee, and that thou
mayest reign over all that thine heart desireth. And David sent Abner away; and
he went in peace.
3:22 And, behold, the servants of David and Joab came from {pursuing} a troop,
and brought in a great spoil with them: but Abner {was} not with David in
Hebron; for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace.
3:23 When Joab and all the host that {was} with him were come, they told Joab,
saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and
he is gone in peace.
3:24 Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner
came unto thee; why {is} it {that} thou hast sent him away, and he is quite
gone?
3:25 Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, and to
know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest.
3:26 And when Joab was come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner,
which brought him again from the well of Sirah: but David knew {it} not.
3:27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to
speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth {rib}, that he
died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.
3:28 And afterward when David heard {it}, he said, I and my kingdom {are}
guiltless before the Lord for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner:
3:29 Let it rest on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and let
there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a
leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that
lacketh bread.
3:30 So Joab, and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he had slain their
brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.
3:31 And David said to Joab, and to all the people that {were} with him, Rend
your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king
David {himself} followed the bier.
3:32 And they buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and
wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept.
3:33 And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth?
3:34 Thy hands {were} not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: as a man
falleth before wicked men, {so} fellest thou. And all the people wept again
over him.
3:35 And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet
day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or
ought else, till the sun be down.
3:36 And all the people took notice {of it}, and it pleased them: as whatsoever
the king did pleased all the people.
3:37 For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of
the king to slay Abner the son of Ner.
3:38 And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince
and a great man fallen this day in Israel?
3:39 And I {am} this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of
Zeruiah {be} too hard for me: the Lord shall reward the doer of evil according
to his wickedness.
4:1 And when Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were
feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled.
4:2 And Saul's son had two men {that were} captains of bands: the name of the
one {was} Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a
Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth also was reckoned to
Benjamin.
4:3 And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this
day.)
4:4 And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son {that was} lame of {his} feet. He was
five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and
his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to
flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name {was} Mephibosheth.
4:5 And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came
about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon.
4:6 And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would
have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and
Baanah his brother escaped.
4:7 For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and
they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them
away through the plain all night.
4:8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to
the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which
sought thy life; and the Lord hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul,
and of his seed.
4:9 And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the
Beerothite, and said unto them, {As} the Lord liveth, who hath redeemed my soul
out of all adversity,
4:10 When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought
good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who {thought} that I
would have given him a reward for his tidings:
4:11 How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own
house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand,
and take you away from the earth?
4:12 And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their
hands and their feet, and hanged {them} up over the pool in Hebron. But they
took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried {it} in the sepulchre of Abner in
Hebron.
5:1 Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying,
Behold, we {are} thy bone and thy flesh.
5:2 Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest
out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my
people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.
5:3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made
a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over
Israel.
5:4 David {was} thirty years old when he began to reign, {and} he reigned forty
years.
5:5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in
Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.
5:6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the
inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away
the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot
come in hither.
5:7 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same {is} the city of
David.
5:8 And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth
the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind {that are} hated of David's soul, {he
shall be chief and captain}. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall
not come into the house.
5:9 So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David
built round about from Millo and inward.
5:10 And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts {was} with
him.
5:11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and
carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house.
5:12 And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel,
and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.
5:13 And David took {him} more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he
was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.
5:14 And these {be} the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem;
Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,
5:15 Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,
5:16 And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet.
5:17 But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over
Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard {of it}, and
went down to the hold.
5:18 The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
5:19 And David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines?
wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for
I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
5:20 And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The
Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters.
Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim.
5:21 And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.
5:22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley
of Rephaim.
5:23 And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; {but}
fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry
trees.
5:24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the
mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go
out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.
5:25 And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the Philistines
from Geba until thou come to Gazer.
6:1 Again, David gathered together all {the} chosen {men} of Israel, thirty
thousand.
6:2 And David arose, and went with all the people that {were} with him from
Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by
the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth {between} the Cherubims.
6:3 And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the
house of Abinadab that {was} in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of
Abinadab, drave the new cart.
6:4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which {was} at Gibeah,
accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark.
6:5 And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner
of {instruments made of} fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on
timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
6:6 And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth {his hand}
to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook {it}.
6:7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him
there for {his} error; and there he died by the ark of God.
6:8 And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah:
and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day.
6:9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of
the Lord come to me?
6:10 So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him into the city of
David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.
6:11 And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite
three months: and the Lord blessed Obededom, and all his household.
6:12 And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of
Obededom, and all that {pertaineth} unto him, because of the ark of God. So
David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the
city of David with gladness.
6:13 And it was {so}, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six
paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
6:14 And David danced before the Lord with all {his} might; and David {was}
girded with a linen ephod.
6:15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with
shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
6:16 And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul's
daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before
the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
6:17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the
midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt
offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
6:18 And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace
offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.
6:19 And he dealt among all the people, {even} among the whole multitude of
Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good
piece {of flesh}, and a flagon {of wine}. So all the people departed every one
to his house.
6:20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of
Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to
day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants,
as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!
6:21 And David said unto Michal, {It was} before the Lord, which chose me
before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the
people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord.
6:22 And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight:
and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in
honour.
6:23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her
death.
7:1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given
him rest round about from all his enemies;
7:2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of
cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
7:3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that {is} in thine heart; for the
Lord {is} with thee.
7:4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan,
saying,
7:5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an
house for me to dwell in?
7:6 Whereas I have not dwelt in {any} house since the time that I brought up
the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a
tent and in a tabernacle.
7:7 In all {the places} wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel
spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my
people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?
7:8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord
of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler
over my people, over Israel:
7:9 And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine
enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name
of the great {men} that {are} in the earth.
7:10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them,
that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall
the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,
7:11 And as since the time that I commanded judges {to be} over my people
Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord
telleth thee that he will make thee an house.
7:12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I
will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I
will establish his kingdom.
7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his
kingdom for ever.
7:14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I
will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of
men:
7:15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took {it} from Saul,
whom I put away before thee.
7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee:
thy throne shall be established for ever.
7:17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did
Nathan speak unto David.
7:18 Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who {am} I,
O Lord God? and what {is} my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?
7:19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast
spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And {is} this the
manner of man, O Lord God?
7:20 And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord God, knowest thy
servant.
7:21 For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all
these great things, to make thy servant know {them}.
7:22 Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for {there is} none like thee,
neither {is there any} God beside thee, according to all that we have heard
with our ears.
7:23 And what one nation in the earth {is} like thy people, {even} like Israel,
whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to
do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which
thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, {from} the nations and their gods?
7:24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel {to be} a people unto
thee for ever: and thou, Lord, art become their God.
7:25 And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy
servant, and concerning his house, establish {it} for ever, and do as thou hast
said.
7:26 And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts {is} the
God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before
thee.
7:27 For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant,
saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his
heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
7:28 And now, O Lord God, thou {art} that God, and thy words be true, and thou
hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
7:29 Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that
it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken {it}:
and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
8:1 And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and
subdued them: and David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines.
8:2 And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the
ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line
to keep alive. And {so} the Moabites became David's servants, {and} brought
gifts.
8:3 David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to
recover his border at the river Euphrates.
8:4 And David took from him a thousand {chariots}, and seven hundred horsemen,
and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot {horses}, but
reserved of them {for} an hundred chariots.
8:5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah,
David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.
8:6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became
servants to David, {and} brought gifts. And the Lord preserved David
whithersoever he went.
8:7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer,
and brought them to Jerusalem.
8:8 And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took
exceeding much brass.
8:9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of
Hadadezer,
8:10 Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless
him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer
had wars with Toi. And {Joram} brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels
of gold, and vessels of brass:
8:11 Which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord, with the silver and gold
that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued;
8:12 Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the
Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king
of Zobah.
8:13 And David gat {him} a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in
the valley of salt, {being} eighteen thousand {men}.
8:14 And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and
all they of Edom became David's servants. And the Lord preserved David
whithersoever he went.
8:15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice
unto all his people.
8:16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah {was} over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son
of Ahilud {was} recorder;
8:17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, {were} the
priests; and Seraiah {was} the scribe;
8:18 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada {was over} both the Cherethites and the
Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.
9:1 And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I
may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake?
9:2 And {there was} of the house of Saul a servant whose name {was} Ziba. And
when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, {Art} thou Ziba?
And he said, Thy servant {is he}.
9:3 And the king said, {Is} there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may
shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath
yet a son, {which is} lame on {his} feet.
9:4 And the king said unto him, Where {is} he? And Ziba said unto the king,
Behold, he {is} in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.
9:5 Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son
of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
9:6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto
David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth.
And he answered, Behold thy servant!
9:7 And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for
Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy
father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.
9:8 And he bowed himself, and said, What {is} thy servant, that thou shouldest
look upon such a dead dog as I {am}?
9:9 Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I have
given unto thy master's son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house.
9:10 Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for
him, and thou shalt bring in {the fruits}, that thy master's son may have food
to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread alway at my table.
Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
9:11 Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath
commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, {said the
king}, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons.
9:12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name {was} Micha. And all that
dwelt in the house of Ziba {were} servants unto Mephibosheth.
9:13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the
king's table; and was lame on both his feet.
10:1 And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon
died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.
10:2 Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his
father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of
his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the
children of Ammon.
10:3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord,
Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters
unto thee? hath not David {rather} sent his servants unto thee, to search the
city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?
10:4 Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of
their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, {even} to their
buttocks, and sent them away.
10:5 When they told {it} unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were
greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be
grown, and {then} return.
10:6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the
children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Bethrehob and the Syrians of
Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ishtob
twelve thousand men.
10:7 And when David heard of {it}, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty
men.
10:8 And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the
entering in of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ishtob, and
Maacah, {were} by themselves in the field.
10:9 When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and
behind, he chose of all the choice {men} of Israel, and put {them} in array
against the Syrians:
10:10 And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his
brother, that he might put {them} in array against the children of Ammon.
10:11 And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help
me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and
help thee.
10:12 Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the
cities of our God: and the Lord do that which seemeth him good.
10:13 And Joab drew nigh, and the people that {were} with him, unto the battle
against the Syrians: and they fled before him.
10:14 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled
they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the
children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.
10:15 And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they
gathered themselves together.
10:16 And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that {were} beyond the
river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer
{went} before them.
10:17 And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed
over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against
David, and fought with him.
10:18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew {the men of} seven
hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach
the captain of their host, who died there.
10:19 And when all the kings {that were} servants to Hadarezer saw that they
were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So
the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.
11:1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go
forth {to battle}, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all
Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But
David tarried still at Jerusalem.
11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed,
and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman
washing herself; and the woman {was} very beautiful to look upon.
11:3 And David sent and inquired after the woman. And {one} said, {Is} not this
Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
11:4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he
lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto
her house.
11:5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I {am} with
child.
11:6 And David sent to Joab, {saying}, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent
Uriah to David.
11:7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded {of him} how Joab did,
and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
11:8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And
Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess {of meat}
from the king.
11:9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of
his lord, and went not down to his house.
11:10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house,
David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from {thy} journey? why {then} didst
thou not go down unto thine house?
11:11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in
tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open
fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with
my wife? {as} thou livest, and {as} thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.
11:12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let
thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
11:13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he
made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of
his lord, but went not down to his house.
11:14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab,
and sent {it} by the hand of Uriah.
11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the
hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
11:16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah
unto a place where he knew that valiant men {were}.
11:17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell
{some} of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
11:18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
11:19 And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling
the matters of the war unto the king,
11:20 And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore
approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they
would shoot from the wall?
11:21 Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece
of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh
the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
11:22 So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent
him for.
11:23 And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us,
and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the
entering of the gate.
11:24 And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and {some} of
the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
11:25 Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let
not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another:
make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage
thou him.
11:26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she
mourned for her husband.
11:27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house,
and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done
displeased the Lord.
12:1 And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto
him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
12:2 The rich {man} had exceeding many flocks and herds:
12:3 But the poor {man} had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had
bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his
children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his
bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
12:4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his
own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come
unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was
come to him.
12:5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to
Nathan, {As} the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this {thing} shall surely
die:
12:6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and
because he had no pity.
12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou {art} the man. Thus saith the Lord God of
Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand
of Saul;
12:8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom,
and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if {that had been} too
little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in
his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken
his wife {to be} thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of
Ammon.
12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou
hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
12:11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of
thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give {them}
unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
12:12 For thou didst {it} secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel,
and before the sun.
12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan
said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the
enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also {that is} born unto thee shall
surely die.
12:15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that
Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
12:16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went
in, and lay all night upon the earth.
12:17 And the elders of his house arose, {and went} to him, to raise him up
from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
12:18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the
servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said,
Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not
hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the
child is dead?
12:19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the
child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And
they said, He is dead.
12:20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed {himself}, and
changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then
he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and
he did eat.
12:21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing {is} this that thou hast
done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, {while it was} alive; but when
the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
12:22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I
said, Who can tell {whether} God will be gracious to me, that the child may
live?
12:23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again?
I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
12:24 And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay
with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the Lord
loved him.
12:25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name
Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
12:26 And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the
royal city.
12:27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against
Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
12:28 Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against
the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.
12:29 And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and
fought against it, and took it.
12:30 And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof
{was} a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was {set} on David's
head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.
12:31 And he brought forth the people that {were} therein, and put {them} under
saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass
through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of
Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
13:1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair
sister, whose name {was} Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.
13:2 And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she
{was} a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her.
13:3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name {was} Jonadab, the son of Shimeah
David's brother: and Jonadab {was} a very subtil man.
13:4 And he said unto him, Why {art} thou, {being} the king's son, lean from
day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my
brother Absalom's sister.
13:5 And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself
sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my
sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may
see {it}, and eat {it} at her hand.
13:6 So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to
see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and
make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand.
13:7 Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's
house, and dress him meat.
13:8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was laid down. And she
took flour, and kneaded {it}, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the
cakes.
13:9 And she took a pan, and poured {them} out before him; but he refused to
eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from
him.
13:10 And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may
eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought
{them} into the chamber to Amnon her brother.
13:11 And when she had brought {them} unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and
said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister.
13:12 And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing
ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly.
13:13 And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt
be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the
king; for he will not withhold me from thee.
13:14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than
she, forced her, and lay with her.
13:15 Then Amnon hated {her} exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated
her {was} greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto
her, Arise, be gone.
13:16 And she said unto him, {There is} no cause: this evil in sending me away
{is} greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken
unto her.
13:17 Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now
this {woman} out from me, and bolt the door after her.
13:18 And {she had} a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes
were the king's daughters {that were} virgins apparelled. Then his servant
brought her out, and bolted the door after her.
13:19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours
that {was} on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.
13:20 And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with
thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he {is} thy brother; regard not this
thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.
13:21 But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth.
13:22 And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for
Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
13:23 And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers
in Baalhazor, which {is} beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's
sons.
13:24 And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath
sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy
servant.
13:25 And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we
be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but
blessed him.
13:26 Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us.
And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?
13:27 But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king's sons go
with him.
13:28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's
heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him,
fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.
13:29 And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then
all the king's sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.
13:30 And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to
David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king's sons, and there is not one of
them left.
13:31 Then the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the earth; and all
his servants stood by with their clothes rent.
13:32 And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother, answered and said, Let
not my lord suppose {that} they have slain all the young men the king's sons;
for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been
determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.
13:33 Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to
think that all the king's sons are dead: for Amnon only is dead.
13:34 But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his
eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came much people by the way of the hill
side behind him.
13:35 And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king's sons come: as thy
servant said, so it is.
13:36 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that,
behold, the king's sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept: and the king
also and all his servants wept very sore.
13:37 But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur.
And {David} mourned for his son every day.
13:38 So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.
13:39 And {the soul of} king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was
comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.
14:1 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart {was} toward
Absalom.
14:2 And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto
her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning
apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long
time mourned for the dead:
14:3 And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the
words in her mouth.
14:4 And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to
the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.
14:5 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I {am}
indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead.
14:6 And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field,
and {there was} none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.
14:7 And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they
said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of
his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall
quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband {neither} name
nor remainder upon the earth.
14:8 And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give
charge concerning thee.
14:9 And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity
{be} on me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne {be}
guiltless.
14:10 And the king said, Whosoever saith {ought} unto thee, bring him to me,
and he shall not touch thee any more.
14:11 Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the Lord thy God, that
thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they
destroy my son. And he said, {As} the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of
thy son fall to the earth.
14:12 Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak {one} word
unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
14:13 And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against
the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty,
in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.
14:14 For we must needs die, and {are} as water spilt on the ground, which
cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect {any} person: yet doth he
devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.
14:15 Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the
king, {it is} because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I
will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request
of his handmaid.
14:16 For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the
man {that would} destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.
14:17 Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be
comfortable: for as an angel of God, so {is} my lord the king to discern good
and bad: therefore the Lord thy God will be with thee.
14:18 Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray
thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king
now speak.
14:19 And the king said, {Is not} the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And
the woman answered and said, {As} thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can
turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath
spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the
mouth of thine handmaid:
14:20 To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing:
and my lord {is} wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all
{things} that {are} in the earth.
14:21 And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go
therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.
14:22 And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked
the king: and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in
thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his
servant.
14:23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
14:24 And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my
face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face.
14:25 But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his
beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no
blemish in him.
14:26 And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he
polled {it}: because {the hair} was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he
weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.
14:27 And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name
{was} Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
14:28 So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's
face.
14:29 Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he
would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not
come.
14:30 Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and
he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the
field on fire.
14:31 Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto {his} house, and said unto him,
Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?
14:32 And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither,
that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? {it
had been} good for me {to have been} there still: now therefore let me see the
king's face; and if there be {any} iniquity in me, let him kill me.
14:33 So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for
Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground
before the king: and the king kissed Absalom.
15:1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and
horses, and fifty men to run before him.
15:2 And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it
was {so}, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for
judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city {art} thou? And
he said, Thy servant {is} of one of the tribes of Israel.
15:3 And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters {are} good and right; but
{there is} no man {deputed} of the king to hear thee.
15:4 Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every
man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him
justice!
15:5 And it was {so}, that when any man came nigh {to him} to do him obeisance,
he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.
15:6 And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for
judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
15:7 And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I
pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord, in
Hebron.
15:8 For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If
the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.
15:9 And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron.
15:10 But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As
soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth
in Hebron.
15:11 And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, {that were}
called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing.
15:12 And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counseller, from
his city, {even} from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy
was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.
15:13 And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of
Israel are after Absalom.
15:14 And David said unto all his servants that {were} with him at Jerusalem,
Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not {else} escape from Absalom: make speed
to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the
city with the edge of the sword.
15:15 And the king's servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants {are
ready to do} whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint.
15:16 And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king
left ten women, {which were} concubines, to keep the house.
15:17 And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a
place that was far off.
15:18 And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and
all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him
from Gath, passed on before the king.
15:19 Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with
us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou {art} a stranger,
and also an exile.
15:20 Whereas thou camest {but} yesterday, should I this day make thee go up
and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy
brethren: mercy and truth {be} with thee.
15:21 And Ittai answered the king, and said, {As} the Lord liveth, and {as} my
lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether
in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.
15:22 And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed
over, and all his men, and all the little ones that {were} with him.
15:23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed
over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people
passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
15:24 And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites {were} with him, bearing the ark
of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up,
until all the people had done passing out of the city.
15:25 And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if
I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and shew
me {both} it, and his habitation:
15:26 But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, {here am} I, let
him do to me as seemeth good unto him.
15:27 The king said also unto Zadok the priest, {Art not} thou a seer? return
into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and
Jonathan the son of Abiathar.
15:28 See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word
from you to certify me.
15:29 Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem:
and they tarried there.
15:30 And David went up by the ascent of {mount} Olivet, and wept as he went
up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that
{was} with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they
went up.
15:31 And {one} told David, saying, Ahithophel {is} among the conspirators with
Absalom. And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel
into foolishness.
15:32 And it came to pass, that {when} David was come to the top {of the
mount}, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him
with his coat rent, and earth upon his head:
15:33 Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a
burden unto me:
15:34 But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy
servant, O king; {as} I {have been} thy father's servant hitherto, so {will} I
now also {be} thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of
Ahithophel.
15:35 And {hast thou} not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests?
therefore it shall be, {that} what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the
king's house, thou shalt tell {it} to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
15:36 Behold, {they have} there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok's
{son}, and Jonathan Abiathar's {son}; and by them ye shall send unto me every
thing that ye can hear.
15:37 So Hushai David's friend came into the city, and Absalom came into
Jerusalem.
16:1 And when David was a little past the top {of the hill}, behold, Ziba the
servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them
two hundred {loaves} of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an
hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.
16:2 And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said,
The asses {be} for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer
fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the
wilderness may drink.
16:3 And the king said, And where {is} thy master's son? And Ziba said unto the
king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of
Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.
16:4 Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine {are} all that {pertained} unto
Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee {that} I may find grace in
thy sight, my lord, O king.
16:5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the
family of the house of Saul, whose name {was} Shimei, the son of Gera: he came
forth, and cursed still as he came.
16:6 And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and
all the people and all the mighty men {were} on his right hand and on his left.
16:7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man,
and thou man of Belial:
16:8 The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in
whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the
hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou {art taken} in thy mischief, because
thou {art} a bloody man.
16:9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead
dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.
16:10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let
him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then
say, Wherefore hast thou done so?
16:11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which
came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now {may this}
Benjamite {do it}? let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden
him.
16:12 It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord
will requite me good for his cursing this day.
16:13 And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill's
side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast
dust.
16:14 And the king, and all the people that {were} with him, came weary, and
refreshed themselves there.
16:15 And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and
Ahithophel with him.
16:16 And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, was come
unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king, God save the
king.
16:17 And Absalom said to Hushai, {Is} this thy kindness to thy friend? why
wentest thou not with thy friend?
16:18 And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom the Lord, and this people,
and all the men of Israel, choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide.
16:19 And again, whom should I serve? {should I} not {serve} in the presence of
his son? as I have served in thy father's presence, so will I be in thy
presence.
16:20 Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.
16:21 And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father's concubines,
which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art
abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that {are} with thee be
strong.
16:22 So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went
in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.
16:23 And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, {was}
as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God: so {was} all the counsel of
Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.
17:1 Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve
thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:
17:2 And I will come upon him while he {is} weary and weak handed, and will
make him afraid: and all the people that {are} with him shall flee; and I will
smite the king only:
17:3 And I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest
{is} as if all returned: {so} all the people shall be in peace.
17:4 And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
17:5 Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear
likewise what he saith.
17:6 And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying,
Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do {after} his saying? if
not; speak thou.
17:7 And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given {is}
not good at this time.
17:8 For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they {be}
mighty men, and they {be} chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps
in the field: and thy father {is} a man of war, and will not lodge with the
people.
17:9 Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some {other} place: and it will
come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever
heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.
17:10 And he also {that is} valiant, whose heart {is} as the heart of a lion,
shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father {is} a mighty man,
and {they} which {be} with him {are} valiant men.
17:11 Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from
Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that {is} by the sea for multitude; and that
thou go to battle in thine own person.
17:12 So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we
will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the
men that {are} with him there shall not be left so much as one.
17:13 Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes
to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small
stone found there.
17:14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the
Archite {is} better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the Lord had appointed
to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might
bring evil upon Absalom.
17:15 Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus
did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have
I counselled.
17:16 Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night
in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be
swallowed up, and all the people that {are} with him.
17:17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel; for they might not be seen to
come into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king
David.
17:18 Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them
away quickly, and came to a man's house in Bahurim, which had a well in his
court; whither they went down.
17:19 And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and
spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known.
17:20 And when Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house, they said,
Where {is} Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They be gone
over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find {them},
they returned to Jerusalem.
17:21 And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of
the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass
quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.
17:22 Then David arose, and all the people that {were} with him, and they
passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was
not gone over Jordan.
17:23 And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled
{his} ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his
household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the
sepulchre of his father.
17:24 Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all
the men of Israel with him.
17:25 And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa
{was} a man's son, whose name {was} Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail
the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab's mother.
17:26 So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.
17:27 And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son
of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of
Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
17:28 Brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and
flour, and parched {corn}, and beans, and lentiles, and parched {pulse},
17:29 And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for
the people that {were} with him, to eat: for they said, The people {is} hungry,
and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.
18:1 And David numbered the people that {were} with him, and set captains of
thousands, and captains of hundreds over them.
18:2 And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab,
and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother,
and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto
the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.
18:3 But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away,
they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us:
but now {thou art} worth ten thousand of us: therefore now {it is} better that
thou succour us out of the city.
18:4 And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king
stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by
thousands.
18:5 And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, {Deal} gently
for my sake with the young man, {even} with Absalom. And all the people heard
when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.
18:6 So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was
in the wood of Ephraim;
18:7 Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and
there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand {men}.
18:8 For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and
the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
18:9 And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and
the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold
of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule
that {was} under him went away.
18:10 And a certain man saw {it}, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw
Absalom hanged in an oak.
18:11 And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest {him},
and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given
thee ten {shekels} of silver, and a girdle.
18:12 And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand {shekels}
of silver in mine hand, {yet} would I not put forth mine hand against the
king's son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai,
saying, Beware that none {touch} the young man Absalom.
18:13 Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for
there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set
thyself against {me}.
18:14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts
in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he {was} yet
alive in the midst of the oak.
18:15 And ten young men that bare Joab's armour compassed about and smote
Absalom, and slew him.
18:16 And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after
Israel: for Joab held back the people.
18:17 And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and
laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his
tent.
18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar,
which {is} in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in
remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto
this day, Absalom's place.
18:19 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king
tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies.
18:20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou
shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings,
because the king's son is dead.
18:21 Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi
bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.
18:22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let
me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run,
my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?
18:23 But howsoever, {said he}, Let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then
Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.
18:24 And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof
over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a
man running alone.
18:25 And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he {be}
alone, {there is} tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.
18:26 And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto
the porter, and said, Behold {another} man running alone. And the king said, He
also bringeth tidings.
18:27 And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like
the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He {is} a good man,
and cometh with good tidings.
18:28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down
to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed {be} the Lord thy
God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord
the king.
18:29 And the king said, {Is} the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered,
When Joab sent the king's servant, and {me} thy servant, I saw a great tumult,
but I knew not what {it was}.
18:30 And the king said {unto him}, Turn aside, {and} stand here. And he turned
aside, and stood still.
18:31 And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for
the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee.
18:32 And the king said unto Cushi, {Is} the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi
answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do
{thee} hurt, be as {that} young man {is}.
18:33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate,
and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son
Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
19:1 And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom.
19:2 And the victory that day was {turned} into mourning unto all the people:
for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son.
19:3 And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being
ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.
19:4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my
son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!
19:5 And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this
day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the
lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the
lives of thy concubines;
19:6 In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast
declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this
day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then
it had pleased thee well.
19:7 Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants:
for I swear by the Lord, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with
thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell
thee from thy youth until now.
19:8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the
people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came
before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent.
19:9 And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel,
saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us
out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for
Absalom.
19:10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore
why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?
19:11 And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak
unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to
his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, {even} to his
house.
19:12 Ye {are} my brethren, ye {are} my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are
ye the last to bring back the king?
19:13 And say ye to Amasa, {Art} thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do
so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me
continually in the room of Joab.
19:14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as {the heart of}
one man; so that they sent {this word} unto the king, Return thou, and all thy
servants.
19:15 So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go
to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.
19:16 And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which {was} of Bahurim, hasted
and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David.
19:17 And {there were} a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the
servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with
him; and they went over Jordan before the king.
19:18 And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king's household, and
to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the
king, as he was come over Jordan;
19:19 And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither
do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the
king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart.
19:20 For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am
come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord
the king.
19:21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put
to death for this, because he cursed the Lord's anointed?
19:22 And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye
should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death
this day in Israel? for do not I know that I {am} this day king over Israel?
19:23 Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king
sware unto him.
19:24 And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had
neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from
the day the king departed until the day he came {again} in peace.
19:25 And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that
the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth?
19:26 And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant
said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king;
because thy servant {is} lame.
19:27 And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the
king {is} as an angel of God: do therefore {what is} good in thine eyes.
19:28 For all {of} my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king:
yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What
right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king?
19:29 And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I
have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land.
19:30 And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as
my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house.
19:31 And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan
with the king, to conduct him over Jordan.
19:32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, {even} fourscore years old: and he had
provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he {was} a very
great man.
19:33 And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed
thee with me in Jerusalem.
19:34 And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should
go up with the king unto Jerusalem?
19:35 I {am} this day fourscore years old: {and} can I discern between good and
evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the
voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be
yet a burden unto my lord the king?
19:36 Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why
should the king recompense it me with such a reward?
19:37 Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own
city, {and be buried} by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold
thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what
shall seem good unto thee.
19:38 And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to
him that which shall seem good unto thee: and whatsoever thou shalt require of
me, {that} will I do for thee.
19:39 And all the people went over Jordan. And when the king was come over, the
king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned unto his own place.
19:40 Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him: and all
the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of Israel.
19:41 And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the
king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought
the king, and his household, and all David's men with him, over Jordan?
19:42 And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king
{is} near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? have we
eaten at all of the king's {cost}? or hath he given us any gift?
19:43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten
parts in the king, and we have also more {right} in David than ye: why then did
ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our
king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men
of Israel.
20:1 And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name {was} Sheba,
the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no
part in David, neither have We inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to
his tents, O Israel.
20:2 So every man of Israel went up from after David, {and} followed Sheba the
son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to
Jerusalem.
20:3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women
{his} concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and
fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their
death, living in widowhood.
20:4 Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three
days, and be thou here present.
20:5 So Amasa went to assemble {the men of} Judah: but he tarried longer than
the set time which he had appointed him.
20:6 And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more
harm than {did} Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him,
lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.
20:7 And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the
Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue
after Sheba the son of Bichri.
20:8 When they {were} at the great stone which {is} in Gibeon, Amasa went
before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and
upon it a girdle {with} a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof;
and as he went forth it fell out.
20:9 And Joab said to Amasa, {Art} thou in health, my brother? And Joab took
Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
20:10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that {was} in Joab's hand: so he
smote him therewith in the fifth {rib}, and shed out his bowels to the ground,
and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued
after Sheba the son of Bichri.
20:11 And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and
he that {is} for David, {let him go} after Joab.
20:12 And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man
saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into
the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by
him stood still.
20:13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after
Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
20:14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to
Bethmaachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went
also after him.
20:15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a
bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that
{were} with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.
20:16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you,
unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.
20:17 And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, {Art} thou Joab? And
he answered, I {am he}. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine
handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.
20:18 Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They
shall surely ask {counsel} at Abel: and so they ended {the matter}.
20:19 I {am one of them that are} peaceable {and} faithful in Israel: thou
seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the
inheritance of the Lord?
20:20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should
swallow up or destroy.
20:21 The matter {is} not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of
Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, {even} against David:
deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto
Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
20:22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off
the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast {it} out to Joab. And he blew a
trumpet, And they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab
returned to Jerusalem unto the king.
20:23 Now Joab {was} over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada {was} over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:
20:24 And Adoram {was} over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud
{was} recorder:
20:25 And Sheva {was} scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar {were} the priests:
20:26 And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.
21:1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year;
and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, {It is} for Saul, and
for {his} bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.
21:2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (Now the
Gibeonites {were} not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the
Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to
slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)
21:3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and
wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the
Lord?
21:4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul,
nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he
said, What ye shall say, {that} will I do for you.
21:5 And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised
against us {that} we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of
Israel,
21:6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up
unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, {whom} the Lord did choose. And the king said,
I will give {them}.
21:7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul,
because of the Lord's oath that {was} between them, between David and Jonathan
the son of Saul.
21:8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she
bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the
daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the
Meholathite:
21:9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged
them in the hill before the Lord: and they fell {all} seven together, and were
put to death in the days of harvest, in the first {days}, in the beginning of
barley harvest.
21:10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her
upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out
of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day,
nor the beasts of the field by night.
21:11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of
Saul, had done.
21:12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his
son from the men of Jabeshgilead, which had stolen them from the street of
Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain
Saul in Gilboa:
21:13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan
his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.
21:14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of
Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all
that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.
21:15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went
down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David
waxed faint.
21:16 And Ishbibenob, which {was} of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose
spear {weighed} three hundred {shekels} of brass in weight, he being girded
with a new {sword}, thought to have slain David.
21:17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine,
and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no
more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.
21:18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the
Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which {was} of the
sons of the giant.
21:19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan
the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew {the brother of} Goliath the
Gittite, the staff of whose spear {was} like a weaver's beam.
21:20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of {great} stature,
that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty
in number; and he also was born to the giant.
21:21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of
David slew him.
21:22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David,
and by the hand of his servants.
22:1 And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day {that} the
Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand
of Saul:
22:2 And he said, The Lord {is} my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: He is my shield, and the {Horn
Of} my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from
violence.
22:4 I will call on the Lord, {who is} worthy to be praised: so shall I be
saved from mine enemies.
22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me
afraid;
22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
22:7 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did
hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry {did enter} into his ears.
22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and
shook, because he was wroth.
22:9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth
devoured: coals were kindled by it.
22:10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness {was} under his
feet.
22:11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of
the wind.
22:12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, {and} thick
clouds of the skies.
22:13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
22:14 The Lord thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
22:15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited
them.
22:16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were
discovered, At the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his
nostrils.
22:17 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
22:18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, {and} from them that hated me: for
they were too strong for me.
22:19 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
22:20 He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he
delighted in me.
22:21 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the
cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
22:22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from
my God.
22:23 For all his judgments {were} before me: and {as for} his statutes, I did
not depart from them.
22:24 I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity.
22:25 Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness;
according to my cleanness in his eye sight.
22:26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, {and} with the upright
man thou wilt shew thyself upright.
22:27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt
shew thyself unsavoury.
22:28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes {are} upon the
haughty, {that} thou mayest bring {them} down.
22:29 For thou {art} my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.
22:30 For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a
wall.
22:31 {As for} God, his way {is} perfect; the word of the Lord {is} tried: he
{is} a buckler to all them that trust in him.
22:32 For who {is} God, save the Lord? and who {is} a rock, save our God?
22:33 God {is} my strength {and} power: and he maketh my way perfect.
22:34 He maketh my feet like hinds' {feet}: and setteth me upon my high places.
22:35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine
arms.
22:36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness
hath made me great.
22:37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.
22:38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again
until I had consumed them.
22:39 And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise:
yea, they are fallen under my feet.
22:40 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up
against me hast thou subdued under me.
22:41 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy
them that hate me.
22:42 They looked, but {there was} none to save; {even} unto the Lord, but he
answered them not.
22:43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them
as the mire of the street, {and} did spread them abroad.
22:44 Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast
kept me {to be} head of the heathen: a people {which} I knew not shall serve
me.
22:45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they
shall be obedient unto me.
22:46 Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close
places.
22:47 The Lord liveth; and blessed {be} my rock; and exalted be the God of the
rock of my salvation.
22:48 It {is} God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me.
22:49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up
on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the
violent man.
22:50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I
will sing praises unto thy name.
22:51 {He is} the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his
anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.
23:1 Now these {be} the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and
the man {who was} raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the
sweet psalmist of Israel, said,
23:2 The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word {was} in my tongue.
23:3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth
over men {must be} just, ruling in the fear of God.
23:4 And {he shall be} as the light of the morning, {when} the sun riseth,
{even} a morning without clouds; as {the} tender grass {springing} out of the
earth by clear shining after rain.
23:5 Although my house {be} not so with God; yet he hath made with me an
everlasting covenant, ordered in all {things}, and sure: for {this is} all my
salvation, and all {my} desire, although he make {it} not to grow.
23:6 But {the sons} of Belial {shall be} all of them as thorns thrust away,
because they cannot be taken with hands:
23:7 But the man {that} shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff
of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the {same} place.
23:8 These {be} the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that
sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same {was} Adino the Eznite: {he
lift up his spear} against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.
23:9 And after him {was} Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, {one} of the
three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines {that} were there
gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:
23:10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his
hand clave unto the sword: and the Lord wrought a great victory that day; and
the people returned after him only to spoil.
23:11 And after him {was} Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the
Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground
full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.
23:12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the
Philistines: and the Lord wrought a great victory.
23:13 And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest
time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the
valley of Rephaim.
23:14 And David {was} then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines
{was} then {in} Bethlehem.
23:15 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water
of the well of Bethlehem, which {is} by the gate!
23:16 And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and
drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that {was} by the gate, and took {it},
and brought {it} to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured
it out unto the Lord.
23:17 And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this: {is not
this} the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he
would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.
23:18 And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among
three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, {and} slew {them}, and
had the name among three.
23:19 Was he not most honourable of three? therefore he was their captain:
howbeit he attained not unto the {first} three.
23:20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel,
who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and
slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:
23:21 And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in
his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of
the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.
23:22 These {things} did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among
three mighty men.
23:23 He was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained not to the
{first} three. And David set him over his guard.
23:24 Asahel the brother of Joab {was} one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of
Dodo of Bethlehem,
23:25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,
23:26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
23:27 Abiezer the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,
23:28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,
23:29 Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai out of
Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,
23:30 Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,
23:31 Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
23:32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,
23:33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite,
23:34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son
of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
23:35 Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,
23:36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,
23:37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armourbearer to Joab the son
of Zeruiah,
23:38 Ira an Ithrite, Gareb an Ithrite,
23:39 Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.
24:1 And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved
David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
24:2 For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which {was} with him,
Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number
ye the people, that I may know the number of the people.
24:3 And Joab said unto the king, Now the Lord thy God add unto the people, how
many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may
see {it}: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?
24:4 Notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the
captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the
presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.
24:5 And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of
the city that {lieth} in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer:
24:6 Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtimhodshi; and they came
to Danjaan, and about to Zidon,
24:7 And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites,
and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, {even} to
Beersheba.
24:8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the
end of nine months and twenty days.
24:9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and
there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword;
and the men of Judah {were} five hundred thousand men.
24:10 And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And
David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I
beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done
very foolishly.
24:11 For when David was up in the morning, the word of the Lord came unto the
prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
24:12 Go and say unto David, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three {things};
choose thee one of them, that I may {do it} unto thee.
24:13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years
of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before
thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence
in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent
me.
24:14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the
hand of the Lord; for his mercies {are} great: and let me not fall into the
hand of man.
24:15 So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the
time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy
thousand men.
24:16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it,
the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the
people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the
threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.
24:17 And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the
people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep,
what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my
father's house.
24:18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar
unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
24:19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded.
24:20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward
him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon
the ground.
24:21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And
David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord,
that the plague may be stayed from the people.
24:22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what
{seemeth} good unto him: behold, {here be} oxen for burnt sacrifice, and
threshing instruments and {other} instruments of the oxen for wood.
24:23 All these {things} did Araunah, {as} a king, give unto the king. And
Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee.
24:24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy {it} of thee
at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that
which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for
fifty shekels of silver.
24:25 And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings
and peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was
stayed from Israel.
